Zombie Apocalypse 2.0
A Short Story
By Jeremy & Margie Jimenez
Copyright 2012 Margie Jimenez
My name is Fitzhugh…Fitzhugh Contreras. Weird name right? I know. My mom has a penchant for all things British and unfortunately for me my name was the ode to her obsession. Never mind that I have to live with the mockery of friends who think it funny to address me as “Old Chap” and or greet me with a “Cheerio” while attempting to say it with a decidedly English inflection. Never gets old for them. Man, how I wish sometimes that my name was Pedro or Esteban or even Joe… anything other than Fitzhugh. But alas, that is my name so feel free to call me by my nickname, Fitz.
I guess I should tell you a little bit about myself. I’m 17 years old and I live on the Upper West Side of New York City. I’m currently a senior at Edward I. Koch High in the West Village. I’m 5’9”, my hair is light brown and wavy and I tend to wear it a kind of long. I’m Hispanic but no one ever believes me at first glance because I’m so light skinned, unlike the rest of my tawny skinned Latino looking family. Oh and I weigh about 135 pounds soaking wet. Am I skinny? Yeah, true dat. You may be thinking I’m a weakling and it’s true that I may not be able to lift heavy weights but I’m strong in other ways, as in mentally and intellectually. I’ve even been told I have a high I.Q. Although I’ve never measured it myself, without boasting I’d say that’s about right. I’ve always been a straight A student and learning comes easy to me. Math is my favorite subject, video games are my obsession and photography is my passion. But that’s neither here nor there. This story is not about me.
It’s a bitter cold January morning and I’m bundled up from head to toe. I’ve got my North Face Parka on, my Gunderson hat, layers and layers of warm tees plus long johns under my fleece lined jeans. With my Timberlands on my feet I look like I’m ready to cut some lumber but I’m actually waiting for my best friend Leni. Once she arrives we’ll be heading to our friend, Brandon’s house to hopefully get some information that we’ll need for our investigation.
Leni and I are in, what you would call, “amateur sleuth mode”. Not that we set out to be detectives or anything like that say… six months ago. We’re not necessarily big CSI or Sherlock Holmes fans or anything but there are strange things happening in and around this city lately and nobody seems to be talking about it or offering any reasonable explanations. The news channels are reporting something about a superbug, mostly affecting populations outside the city and we’ve begun seeing people walking around with masks but we think it’s something bigger than that. Maybe it’s because I tend to be suspicious about things but I think the authorities are purposely being vague about the information they’re disseminating to the public. We just want to know why so we’re determined to figure this all out.
I glance at my watch and see it’s 9:10 am. Leni is running late…again. I’m not upset. Kinda used to it actually and when it comes to Leni, well…what can I say? She’s the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen so all is forgiven. We’ve both got green eyes but mine are supremely dull compared to hers. Hers are almost iridescent. Sometimes they seem blue-green, other times they seem hazel with flecks of gold. Suffice to say I could get lost in them. She wears her black hair short, in what’s called a “pixie cut” and she’s tall and thin, maybe just 1 or 2 inches shorter than me. There’s some Native American in Leni’s family so it probably explains her olive complexion even in the dead of winter, while I remain as pale as ever.
Leni and I met our sophomore year in Ms. Harrison’s English class. She was a new transfer to our school and fortunately for me, was assigned the seat next to mine. As luck would also have it we were paired up to write a paper later that term on William Shakespeare. Alas, the Bard and his works are not my forté but thankfully, Leni is passionate about all things Shakespeare and so we worked on it together and aced that project. In the interim a true friendship was formed. The more I got to know her, the more I realized what an amazing person she was. I’ve always been kind of shy and reserved and until now I’ve never really wanted a girlfriend. After watching my friends deal with all their girlfriend dramas, I’ve surmised that most girls my age are a tad too high maintenance. I just don’t have time for that, at least that what I'd been telling myself until I met Leni. Since middle school, I’ve been completely focused on my college quest and I still have high hopes for that but these days I’m just not feeling as gung-ho. I hate to admit it but I think I’ve been smitten by Cupid. Only problem now is I don’t really know how Leni feels about me. I know she loves me, I mean we’re best friends and all but does she love me? That’s the grand question I still don’t have an answer to and well, I’m a little scared to find out. In any event, that’s the least of our worries right now.
I’ve decided to wait for Leni this morning inside the Starbucks on Astor Place. I send her a text to remind her to meet me there and go order myself a White Chocolate Mocha. I feel extremely conflicted as I savor my drink. Even though I don’t want to think about this right now, I can’t help it. Even with all the craziness around us, Leni is forefront on my mind and she’s becoming my fixation. I desperately want to, make that need to tell Leni how I feel about her but I also don’t want to change the dynamic of our relationship. It’s so good right now and if she doesn’t feel the same way I’m afraid of the repercussions.
The sound of “Every Breath You Take” by The Police playing on my cell breaks me out of my reverie and tells me Leni is calling. “Hey…” I ask, “Where are you?” “Just up the street.” she answers. “I’ll see you in a minute.” “Okay.” I reply as I gather my things and head outside. I see her now as she walks toward me. “Awesome!” I think to myself. She took my advice and bundled up for this cold. Now I don’t have to worry she’ll get hypothermia.
“Hey, Leni, I like your hat.” I remark as I watch the pom-poms swish from side to side on her brightly covered knit hat. I walk briskly towards her and proceed to take my place beside her.
“Thanks…” she says with a faint smile as together we head down into the Astor Place station to take the 6 train uptown. “So what exactly are we doing today?” she asks.
“I thought we could head up to Brandon’s house.” I reply. “His dad is a police captain up in the Bronx and Brandon said he might be able to get us some more information about the superbug. I called him this morning to remind him we’d be coming over. He’s expecting us.”
“Great,” she says without much enthusiasm.
“Hey, are you okay?” I ask her. “You seem kind of out of it.”
“No, I’m really scared.” She replies as we swipe our Metrocards and head to the subway platform. “Last night I heard my mom on the phone talking to my aunt in Virginia. I couldn’t really make out what she was saying but I could tell she was really anxious and genuinely terrified when she got off the phone. I asked her about it afterwards but she wouldn’t tell me anything. She just kept telling me not to worry about it. Not all the convincingly I might add.”
I ponder Leni’s words as we enter the subway platform and now I’m a little scared.
The Uptown #6 roars into the station and Leni and I board the train. Miraculously, it’s not as packed as it usually is because today’s a Federal holiday and most people are off from work. I attempt to make some small talk and get our minds off the task at hand, albeit briefly, as we find some seats and make ourselves comfortable.
“So…any replies on your college applications yet?”
“No, not yet” she answers, “I’m not too worried though. All of the colleges I’ve chosen have good writing programs so I’m sure I’ll be fine wherever I get accepted. How about you? Anything yet?”
“No, I’m still waiting to hear. I’m re
ally hopeful I’ll get into Mellon. I’ve wanted to go there since 7th grade.” I reply.
“Yeah, I know…it’s all you talk about sometimes.” says Leni.
“Oh, sorry about that. I forget I have a tendency to repeat myself.” I respond.
“No, don’t apologize. That’s what I like about you. You’re so determined and you’ve worked really hard to make this happen so I really do hope you get in.”
I see her smile as I reply, “From your lips to God’s ears. That would be a dream come true for me. Hey, I’m glad you cheered up a bit. Listen, remember I’m always here for you okay?”
“Yes, I know, Fitz. You’ve been a great friend and I’m not just saying that. I’m glad we’re doing this together. After my mom’s